Dynamic Credit: Giles Andrews OBE joins Dynamic Credit as Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Dynamic Credit: Giles Andrews OBE joins Dynamic Credit as Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Giles Andrews OBE, co-founder of Zopa, the world’s first marketplace lender, will join Dynamic Credit as Chairman of their Supervisory Board, subject to regulatory approval. The Board will have three members and serves to strengthen the corporate governance of Dynamic Credit Group (DCG), which comprises of the asset manager and direct lender Dynamic Credit and the investor servicing platform LoanClear.
Giles Andrews is co-founder of Zopa, the world’s first marketplace lending platform. With a focus on delivering on customer experience, Zopa has now originated over GBP 3.8 bn in personal loans in the UK (since it was established in 2005). Throughout the credit cycle, Zopa has provided positive returns to investors. In addition to his role at Zopa, Giles acts as non-executive chairman of Bethnal Green Ventures, the accelerator for start-ups using technology to make social or environmental impact. He is also chairman at MarketInvoice, a fintech where business sell invoices to investors to raise working capital, and chairman at Kreditech, the fintech lender serving consumers in multiple geographies.
Dynamic Credit is growing into a full-service direct lender, with a broad loan offering ranging from regular mortgage loans to prime SME loans and buy-to-let loans, both in the Netherlands and abroad. The funding of the loans is via the ‘I-to-I’ principle: ‘institutional to individual’. Providing top-notch client service is key in the distribution of these loans. The experience of Giles, who has always championed the importance of the client angle, will be a key contributing factor in shaping this strategy.
Giles Andrews said: “I am delighted to be joining Tonko and his team and am really looking forward to working with them on the exciting opportunities they have in front of them. I have been incredibly impressed by what they have achieved to date, both the scale of assets managed and the culture they have built over 15 years, which positions them so strongly for the next phase of their growth.”
Tonko Gast (Founder and CEO of Dynamic Credit Group) commented: “We are proud that Giles Andrews has agreed to join Dynamic Credit Group as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. His experience in the field of direct lending, both from a product perspective and in how to grow a direct lending business in a robust way, is very extensive. On top of that we share core beliefs, like always acting ethically, the importance of being curious and of being honest and transparent.”
Having just celebrated its 15th anniversary, Dynamic Credit now has over EUR 10.5 billion in mandates from pension funds, insurance companies, banks and the capital market. The strategies of asset manager and direct lender Dynamic Credit include Dutch mortgage loans, Dutch prime SME loans and global asset-backed securities (ABS). LoanClear facilitates loan investments for institutional investors and offers a loan marketplace. The management board of DCG is formed by founder and CEO Tonko Gast, COO Daan Potjer and General Counsel Joost van Hunnik.